Time

The effect of time on memory is a constant source of fascination: how unreliable it can be and how we tend to fill the gaps with a nostalgic recreation of the ‘facts’. As Marcel Proust observed: remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were. This is the theme of Stephen Goss’s Time.

As his starting point Goss takes two pieces by Mahler: the Adagietto from the 5th Symphony and Der Abschied from Das Lied von der Erde. The Adagietto has been allowed to decay in the composer’s memory so that only an impression remains – certain kinds of chords, a sense of character, longing and nostalgia. But new connections are made, and when the original Adagietto seems to come to the surface for a moment, it suddenly reminds us of Der Abschied and this is the springboard which triggers a more extended and detailed memory of the song. Eventually this dissolves back into the Adagietto again as its ending is recalled – an eloquent evocation of the beauty of faded memory.

Time was commissioned by Christoph Denoth for the TIME Unwrapped season at Kings Place in London. Christoph gave the first performance on 10th October 2018.

Cinema Paradiso

Cinema Paradiso was commissioned by Guitar CoOp for Zoran Dukić, who will give the first performance at the Koblenz International Guitar Festival on 3rd June 2017. The piece is based on films by Quentin Tarantino, Wim Wenders, Lars von Trier, Francois Truffaut, and Charlie Chaplin.

Sound of Iona

Sound of Iona was commissioned by Rui Mourinho for his forthcoming CD of Stephen Goss’s solo guitar music. The first performance took place on 11th June 2016 at Casa Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portimão, Algarve, Portugal.

Sonata

2006 | 15 mins | for solo guitar

Pastorale

Toccata

Adagio sostenuto

“Goss’s Sonata for solo guitar (2006) finds him well and truly on home ground. Each of the three movements of the work takes as its starting-point a work from a different composer: Debussy for the Pastorale, Scarlatti for the Toccata and Beethoven for the Adagio sostenuto . Michael Partington, for whom the work was written, honours it with a supremely fluent performance, bringing out the harp-like qualities of the first, the rapid repeated notes and ringing, campanella effects in the second, and the poignancy of the double variations in the third.” International Record Review

Oxen of the Sun

2003 | 18 mins | for ten-string and six-string guitar

Sirens

Pan

Aeolus

Orpheus

Arethusa

Circe

Narcissus

“Nothing can quite prepare one for the experience that is Stephen Goss’ Oxen of the Sun. This was written for Leathwood to play on 10-string and 6-string guitars. The normal guitar rests on its back on two piano stools in front of the performer, who holds the 10-string in the normal way. The 6-string is played rather in the manner of a lap-guitar, with harmonics and tapping, and two different capos.” Classical Guitar Magazine

Commissioned by Jonathan Leathwood. First performed at the Bolivar Hall, Grafton Way, London on 21st March 2003. First US performance for the Denver Classical Guitar Society, South Broadway Christian Church, 23 Lincoln Street at Ellsworth, Denver, Colorado, USA 8th November 2003.